Smithsonian Education

Group of Smithsonian Education awardees with leadership standing in front of a large screen that says "Celebrate Smithsonian Education"

Awards Ceremony Highlights the Range and Influence of Smithsonian Education for Teachers and Students

From an innovative cultural journey across the U.S. to youth-inspired environmental leadership, the Smithsonian Education Award recipients demonstrate a wide range of initiatives that bridge Affiliates, museums, research centers, and the Zoo with learners

Summit team developing a logic model at Xavier University

Transforming K-12 STEM Education by Diversifying the STEM Teacher Workforce

Research points to the importance of a diverse teacher workforce and its impact on students. Learn how educators at the Smithsonian Science Education Center are committed to increasing the number of STEM teachers with diverse backgrounds in education networks nationwide.

Five images of art projects inspired by the Smithsonian

At-Home Activities for Guaranteed Family Fun This Winter

Ten innovative and inspired ideas to keep kids learning and engaged while home from school during winter break

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To Reimagine the Future, Start by Expanding the Stories of Our Past

Looking back at beloved children's stories and historical narratives taught in the classroom, two educators ask us to consider whose perspectives were centered. Through ongoing National Youth Summit programming, historical case studies provide an opportunity for students to expand their thinking about stories of our past.

Three adults wearing chest waders laughing and in silly poses. They are standing on sand behind a line of plastic bins filled with water.

When the Chesapeake Bay Serves as Your Research Laboratory and Inspiration for the Classroom

Teachers and environmental researchers alike learned something new about their fields of expertise in this unique professional development opportunity.

A group of people posing for a photo on a stage. Dr. Monique M. Chism with Awardees and Smithsonian Women’s Committee supporters at the 2022 Smithsonian Education Awards Ceremony, July 28, 2022.

Awards Ceremony Highlights the Reach and Impact of Smithsonian Education for Teachers and Students

From participatory programming to innovative uses of media, the Smithsonian Education Award recipients demonstrate a wide range of initiatives that bridge museums, research centers, and the Zoo with learners of all ages.

Globe with a quote "Are we educating our students to understand the complex global challenges of our time?"

Teaching About Real-World, Transdisciplinary Problems and Phenomena through Convergence Education

In its 2018 Federal STEM Strategic Plan, a collaboration of government agencies wrote that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education should move through a pathway where disciplines "converge" and where teaching and learning moves from disciplinary to transdisciplinary. Classroom examples help spotlight what this framework can look like in practice.

Young child experiences hands-on play experience with objects

Equitable Access to Quality Early Learning Experiences Matters

Early learning educators share what a future might look like, in which every child in the country has access to high-quality early learning experiences and the resulting long-lasting impacts.

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How Art Can Foster Social-Emotional Awareness for Our Students (and Ourselves)

Museum educators at the National Museum of Asian Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum have developed programs to equip teachers and students alike with strategies to slow down. This programming has guided participants in appreciating art, checking-in with themselves, and developing empathy.

Teacher Kurt Russell sits at a square table in the school's library with five students, smiling and in conversation.

In Conversation with 2022 National Teacher of the Year, Kurt Russell

High school history teacher Kurt Russell offers a peek into his teaching approach, his new role as National Teacher of the Year, and what has sustained him as he recommits to the profession each year.

Woman with crossed arms holds a microphone

You're Invited to the Smithsonian National Education Summit!

This summer, educators from across the Smithsonian community will provide a series of engaging online sessions, in-person workshops, and panels to inspire a nationwide network of teachers, librarians, curriculum specialists across the education ecosystem.

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Diverse and Inclusive Educational Resources for the Music Classroom and Beyond

While music has often been relegated to the edges of the curriculum in the U.S., there are many inspiring examples of how learning about, appreciating, playing, and creating music enhances children’s lives, and helps them navigate the complex world around them.

Students cluster in groups and individually around a sandy area, adding and refining the community map they are building out of sand, leaves, and sticks.

Education to Create a Sustainable Future

When thinking about the ultimate goal of learning, a Smithsonian educator and researcher suggests that at the core of education, is a goal to create a better future for learners and for us all. Through her work, she maps the journey to help students develop the skills and knowledge needed to become active participants in creating a more sustainable world.

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Museum Mentors Enable a Future-Ready Generation of Young Environmental Leaders

A nationwide network of mentors demonstrates the power to challenge and guide youth to be the transformational leaders that they can be, and that the planet needs them to be.

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Equipping the Next Generation of Radical Optimists in an Era of Uncertainty

A new series of creativity and critical thinking exercises from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum offers educators prompts, visuals, and big ideas to support student reflection and speculative thinking.

The Smithsonian's Under Secretary for Education welcomes teachers and students back to a new school year and highlights the ways the Smithsonian plans to build and enrich a national culture of learning. (Getty Images)

Back to School With the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian is committed to playing a role as one of the foremost education organizations in the country, offering innovative programming and resources for teachers and supporting a high quality, well-rounded education for all students.

Local Washington, D.C. based chef Jerome Grant was one of 12 presenters in the DCPS Career Ready Internship program for students interested in hospitality careers. Grant shared his philosophy around creating unforgettable dining experiences as a former chef in Smithsonian spaces including the Mitsitam Café at the National Museum of the American Indian and Sweet Home Café at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (Marvin Joseph, The Washington Post via Getty Images)

From Museum Chef to Zoo Educator, Careers Come to Life for Local Students

This summer, local students explored careers in hospitality with Smithsonian mentors and advisors' support.

The Anacostia Community Museum was able to serve incarcerated audiences through use of newly issued tablets at the D.C. Jail. (Anacostia Community Museum)

Reaching Out to Those Behind Bars

Learn how the Anacostia Community Museum redesigned its acclaimed exhibition "Men of Change" as a digital offering for incarcerated audiences

Moments that highlight the joy and excitement of scientific inquiry—such as this student using a Van de Graaff generator—can spark interest in a STEM-related career. Here are some career-focused resources that can supplement that interest. (National Air and Space Museum)

Sparking Excitement About STEM Through Exposure to Career Pathways

Ask a child to draw a scientist, and research says they’ll often draw the typical stereotype of a “mad scientist”—– an older, usually white, man, with wild hair, wearing a lab coat and goggles. This mental image perpetuates myths about who can and can’t work in STEM careers. The reality is that anyone can do science. Five educators at the Smithsonian share insights and ideas on inspiring the next generation.

Through co-creation efforts with K-12 educators and Asian American community partners, the National Veterans Network, elementary and middle school educators, Asian Pacific American Center interns and National Museum of American History staff, learn more about the stories behind objects. (Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center)

What's Missing from Classrooms When Asian American and Pacific Islander Voices Aren't Included?

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have been present throughout America’s past through migration, labor, activism, science innovation, art, literature, community organizing, and so much more. When AAPI stories and voices are missing from what students learn, grappling with our current moment of increased hate and violence, and thoughtfully discussing this with students runs the risk of becoming even more difficult without support and resources to contextualize what we are witnessing today.

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